Japan: Akihabara

We filled every day with a new adventure. This time we visited the Akihabara section of Tokyo because we missed it the last time we were in Japan (9 years ago).

Once we got off the subway, we needed a little direction but a few blocks later, we were overwhelmed. So much colors...










I think we spent a lot of time in this blue building. There were 7 floors and each floor concentrated on a certain item. For example, the 2nd floor was all cameras and the 6th floor was video games. And there are several places like this, practically every block had this kind of store!

Believe it or not, we searched for some nail clippers. Who knew that Japanese nail clippers are so freakin awesome? A co-worker of Hector's requested nail clippers made in Japan (not China). Simple. right? Um, there are many, many choices in size and technology. We bought 2 and kept one for ourselves. 

Okay, once you use this Japanese nail clipper you'll wonder how you ever survived without one. I had nail clippers that could barely clip thru my regular nail so what about people with thicker nails. The action on these clippers are so smooth that it doesn't even make that audible clipping sound. Now I kind of wish that we bought more for gifts. Sounds really lame, but if I get more and you happen to get it as a gift, you'll be amazed. AMAZED! You'll have to wait another 9 years before I go back....






Hector and I tried some takoyaki too. It was really good but I think 6 was too much for us. We ate 2 each then I dug the octopus out of the rest. It just had a lot of batter so that added to it. 











Even the side streets are packed full of  shops which is cool if you want to avoid the crush of people/cars on the main street. 

Japan is super safe and we encouraged the kids to explore a bit although I think they found Tokyo a bit intimidating but they managed. :)

Cats

Now for something different since you might need a Japan break.

Our 2 cats are growing fast and keeping us entertained. We've been busy this weekend and I noticed the two were being a little rambunctious around the house. So I pulled out a favorite toy of theirs, a feathery pineapple. At least that's what I named it when I first saw it and now it no longer looks like before, the cats still love it.

I shoved the stick into a box of towels so the feathery part would dangle/bounce/entice and it didn't take long before they attacked.

I'm trying to reawaken my photography so I used my 50mm Canon lens with Sony adapter with the Sony a6000. Nice sharp pictures but slower auto focus. Always difficult to capture Shadow but if he is still, I can get some nice shots of him.

Lots of the photos are blurry or cats moving so much they're not in the frame. It was fun though...

Japan : Tokyo Tower

Phew! So many photos to go through.

This is our Tokyo Tower portion of the day...

This is the closest Josh would get to the look down window.

I said Look up at the ceiling! Apparently only Josh and I were the only ones.

 

Japan: Tokyo

More pics of Tokyo...

We braved the subway system and saw Shinjuku station busy but definitely not at its busiest. The kids were troopers since our destination was the Pokemon center at Sunshine City while having lunch at Dennys along the way. 


It rained lightly through out the day so it made walking and taking pictures a bit more difficult with all the umbrellas. 





















Also, remember not to delete your photos in your camera. Wait til you upload them. Hector accidentally erased his pictures while trying to delete one item. That was my public service announcement.

Japan: the beginning

I'm not a consistent blogger at all this year but I will be adding more photos to my Flickr album.

Japan is an amazing country where it's a mix of old and modern ideas, architecture and culture. I felt very safe there and even our kids had the chance to explore a little on their own.

There is so much to see and do here. The last time we were here was 9 years ago and we did a few of the same sights we did previously. I can tell you that we walked A LOT. Not just walking but climbing stairs up and down. A lot. That's why the people are thin, they get a natural workout every day. 

We walked a minimum of 7 miles/day and our high was close to 12 miles one day. Even the elderly people got around; they do not shirk their activities one bit. 

The weather was chilly and rainy for the most part. We did get some pretty skies and maybe 2 warmer days.










Met some interesting characters...












Found some really great places to eat and see the people. Most of the places we ate out look like this. We have no idea of their names but we managed to try all sorts of food....more on that later.